United shares soar Malcolm Glazer is rumoured to be making a renewed bid for Manchester United ... and the club's share price is shooting up The Guardian Monday December 20, 2004
Manchester United shares rose by 4% at the start of trading this morning amid speculation that Malcolm Glazer was about to make a renewed bid for the club. The American billionaire, who owns a 28.11% stake in the club, has already been rebuffed once by United chief executive David Gill with an approach the club felt would incur too much debt. However, Glazer is now thought to have put together a new package that does not require the same extent of leverage, and rumours are rife he will inform the Stock Exchange that he intends to lodge a formal takeover offer of around 300p per share. That would value United at around �800m but to push the deal through, Glazer would need the agreement of the club's major shareholders John Magnier and JP McManus, who broke off contact with the Florida-based tycoon in October. Glazer has long coveted United, who he believes are capable of generating more revenue than they currently do even though they remain the most profitable football club in the world. The owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFL franchise, Glazer suffered a major blow to his plans when bankers JP Morgan and PR company Brunswick withdrew their support last month in protest at his decision to vote three senior United directors off the Old Trafford board. It was Gill's determination to reinstate commercial director Andy Anson which is believed to have triggered the latest twist to the United takeover story. Having established contact with Glazer in an effort to persuade him to allow Anson to take his director's seat before Christmas, it has been reported that Gill's proposition was turned down, with the American then stating his new finance arrangements. But the United hierarchy, who have long since grown tired of Glazer's manoeuvrings that have twice forced the club into an Offer Period this year, told him they would not discuss any bid unless he made a formal offer. One of Gill's options would be to ask the Takeover Panel to deliver a 'put up or shut up' notice to the American, which would give him a time limit by which point he must declare his intentions. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free! http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/GtUolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Please use [EMAIL PROTECTED] for general discussion. To unsubscribe send a blank message (from the email account in question) to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Join as a full member of IMUSA today: http://www.imusa.org/join.htm Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/imusa/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
